Post navigation

Women Sheltered – or Shattered?

A radical Obama-era policy could be on its last legs, and Family Policy Alliance is asking you to speak up to ensure the repeal of a rule that threatens vulnerable American women.

Just before President Obama left office – in late September 2016 – his Administration slipped in a new rule that was largely overlooked in the rush of the Clinton-Trump campaign.

Women’s shelters, said the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule, must begin accepting men who identify as women.

While all policies that open up intimate spaces to the opposite sex are inexcusable, this rule is especially dangerous. That’s because these shelters are filled with women who have been victimized by men – physically, mentally and even sexually.

A federal study found that as many as 93 percent of mothers staying in homeless shelters are trauma survivors. The last thing these women need is to be traumatized again by the presence of a man in the private confines of a women’s shelter.

But it’s not just mental trauma – as serious as that is – that threatens women. Their physical safety is endangered as well. Even men who’ve undergone transsexual surgery continue to engage in a significantly higher rate of violent crime compared to females, according to a long-term study.

Yet there are also other men who simply take advantage of the opportunity – like Christopher Hambrook. He was not transgender, but he called himself “Jessica” and – under a similar policy – was admitted to a Toronto women’s shelter where he sexually assaulted two women.

Thankfully, there is hope that the Obama rule can be rescinded. Family Policy Alliance has learned that leaders at HUD are considering taking action to end this rule.